The Capture

The Capture may get a little too clever with itself in its final, divisive episode in terms of allusions to current politics, but perhaps it’s not wrong to do so. Ultimately, the grounded choices it makes are as believable as its twistiest revelations.

The Capture’s dystopia is still one you can believe in.

Hits the points that make British conspiracy thrillers such tasty candy, balancing the convoluted or unconvincing elements of its plot with homey detail and naturalistic performances by actors you wish would invite you over for dinner sometime.

Despite all of the holes in writer/director Ben Chanan’s script, I still want to know where Hannah Roberts is, whether she is alive and whether Emery has been framed for her disappearance, or did it without realising he is doing it.

The series, from Ben Chanan, manages to feel zeitgeisty, its particular fascination lending an otherwise fairly run-of-the-mill detective series the anxious tingle of the here-and-now. Complementing that timeliness are the performances.

It's a twisty journey that starts as a grounded exploration of the Panopticon-esque paranoia of the British surveillance state. That it eventually becomes something convoluted and vaguely silly is a disappointment, but the six hour-long episodes at least kept me curious throughout.

Dull and forgettable. ... Feels more Mad Libs than original, a little "Bodyguard," a little "Homeland," a little "Broadchurch" mixed together.

This has got to be one of the worst shows I have ever seen. The guy who goes on the run is constantly looking into the camera with the same dopey blank confused expression. For some reason, even though he's on the run, he never actually runs. He just looks around confused and slowly wanders. Seemingly at every turn he makes the worst possible decision. The script is so over the top corny bad. Ron Pearlman and the boss lady who come in are probably the two worst. They try to salvage this crapfest, but it's impossible. Pearlman is supposed to be interesting and intimidating. He offers juice boxes when he's holding the guy. The lines he has to deliver are so bad, they made me laugh multiple times (they're not meant to be funny). I regret starting this and I regret watching until the end of Series 1. Oh yeah, there's also about 1 million flashbacks per episode. They are annoying, repetitive and stupid. Horrible cliched "plot device". This show is perfect for people who have horrible taste and are not very smart, but who think they have good taste and are very smart. Unless you fall into that category, don't watch this. You'll regret it if you are not an idiot.